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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 2018)
A3 THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2018 Astoria City Council fi nalizes approval of waterfront hotel ill said Thursday. “The code has gotten beaten up quite a lot. But if the code were crystal clear, there wouldn’t be land use attor- neys and there wouldn’t be a need for design review committees or appeals to the City Council.” While she, like Price, still does not believe the hotel is compatible in terms of scale and mass, Nem- lowill said she was grateful that Hollander changed the look of the hotel following the fi rst round of denials of a design criticized for being generic and boxy. The new design, pre- sented to the City Council at Hollander’s fi rst appeal in October, was intended to evoke historic cannery buildings and other historic structures. “This was a very com- plex case,” Nemlow- ill said. “And ultimately, even though there are a lot of disappointed people in the community right now, I think that the design is much better than the fi rst design we saw and I appre- ciate the developer cre- ating a design that is spe- cifi c to Astoria and not just Anywhere, USA.” City Councilor Bruce Jones and Councilor Tom Brownson said they did not want to see the water- front clogged with hotels, but repeated points they made at the hearing ear- lier this month before vot- ing in favor of Hollander’s appeal: That, in this case, the code was not clear. “I don’t want to see a series of four-story build- ings going in the Bridge Vista overlay zone any more than anyone else does,” Jones said. “But the City Council voted only three years ago in 2015 to allow a 45-foot height in areas in the Bridge Vista that are zoned for hotels. “The way to control how this city evolves is through a tightly written develop- ment code, amended either where the community needs change or we fi nd gaps in the code or maybe some areas that are too subject to interpretation.” If the majority of the community wants to limit building heights, he con- cluded, they need to amend the code. By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian Astoria city council- ors fi nalized their deci- sion Thursday to uphold an appeal and allow devel- opers to build a four-story hotel along the riverfront. The City Council adopted fi ndings of fact to refl ect the approval. City Councilor Cindy Price and Councilor Zetty Nemlowill remained against the project, main- taining that the hotel does not meet criteria intended to preserve views and the city’s historic character. They were the sole “no” votes at a hearing this month when a majority of the council gave tenta- tive approval to Hollander Hospitality to construct the 60-plus room, Marri- ‘I THINK THAT THE DESIGN IS MUCH BETTER THAN THE FIRST DESIGN WE SAW.’ Councilor Zetty Nemlowill ott-brand Fairfi eld Inn and Suites. Hollander wants to build the hotel at the base of Second Street, home to the former Ship Inn restau- rant, and an area that falls under the city’s Bridge Vista overlay, part of the Riverfront Vision Plan that dictates how development unfolds along the water- front. Hotels are allowed outright at the site and only the building’s pro- posed design and proxim- ity to historic features were reviewed by city boards. The Design Review Committee and the His- toric Landmarks Commis- sion rejected the project, but developers appealed to the City Council. The Design Review Commit- tee later rejected a second design which was again appealed to City Council. “This is the fi rst real big project that has ever been tried in the Bridge Vista overlay,” Nemlow- Deal reached to protect scenic areas By JEFF MAPES Oregon Public Broadcasting After months of wran- gling, congressional nego- tiators have reached agree- ment on a bill that would protect several popular sce- nic areas in Oregon. The package — which the U.S. Senate is expected to vote on next month — contains long-sought pro- tections for several rivers and backcountry regions. It covers parts of the Molalla and Chetco rivers, as well as several Rogue River trib- utaries. And it covers the Devil’s Staircase, a largely untouched wildland area in a southern Oregon coastal rainforest. The measure would also allow forest thinning on a wilderness area near cen- tral Oregon’s Crooked River Ranch to reduce the danger from wildfi res. U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, said the bill con- tains “very substantial wins for conservation” that he said were long overdue. Wyden and U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, the sole Republican in the Ore- gon congressional delega- tion, wrangled for weeks over the provisions in the measure. Walden wanted the Sen- ate to pass his House-ap- proved bill dealing with the Crooked River Ranch, an upscale development north of Redmond, and he objected to some of the wil- derness provisions in the original Senate bill. “The people in Crooked River Ranch are quite frankly terrifi ed they are going to become the next Paradise, California,” said Walden spokesman Jus- tin Discigil, referring to the Sierra foothills town recently wiped out by wildfi re. Wyden said he also wanted to act to protect the ranch. But he said the mat- ter needed to be paired with the wilderness protections he had long sought. The provisions were included in a broader pub- lic lands bill that would provide wilderness protec- tions for about 1.3 million acres around the country. The bipartisan bill appeared Chandra LeGue/Oregon Wild The Devil’s Staircase, a series of cataracts on Wassen Creek in southwest Oregon. poised for Senate passage on Wednesday, but U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, took procedural steps to block an immediate vote on the measure. That deep-sixed the bill for now since time is run- ning out on the congressio- nal session. But Wyden said he was promised a Senate vote next month — and he’s also expecting quick action in the House, where Demo- crats will then be in control. “I’m feeling quite upbeat about the prospects for Jan- uary,” he said. During the heated nego- tiations, Wyden said he was forced to drop provisions providing wilderness pro- tection for 100,000 acres in the Rogue River area as well as 30,000 acres in the Molalla River watershed. Wyden said Molalla River watershed protections had to be put off at least temporarily because of bud- get issues. But Wyden and Walden clashed over the Rogue provisions. Discigil said Walden was concerned about allowing additional wilderness pro- tections in southern Oregon that could interfere with management efforts aimed at reducing wildfi re. “Greg shares the con- cerns of the community in southern Oregon,” Discigil said. “After the wildfi re season we had in 2018 and 2017 … we should be think- ing very carefully about moving ahead with new wilderness provisions.” Steve Pedery, conser- vation director of Oregon Wild, said the Rogue River areas earmarked for wilder- ness protection don’t pose a wildfi re threat since they aren’t near any communi- ties. He chastised Walden for getting involved in a wilderness fi ght outside his district. According to Wyden’s offi ce, provisions in the new package include: • Protections for about 120 miles of Rogue River tributaries, 21 miles of the Molalla River south of Port- land, 18 miles of Jenny Creek through the Cascade-Siski- you National Monument, 21 miles of Wasson and Frank- lin creeks in the Siuslaw National Forest, and several tributaries of the Elk River. • New protections for the Chetco River to prevent min- ing activities. • Wilderness designation for 30,000 acres for the Dev- il’s Staircase. Merry Christmas Courtney Ann My Angel in Heaven August 21, 1982-December 22, 2001 t? For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” Hebrews 13:5 NLT Love always forever and ever and ever. -Dadio WE CURE WHAT ALES YOU The Astoria City Council wishes everyone a JOYOUS HOLIDAY SEASON! Enjoy the lights and holiday festivities while shopping Downtown Astoria! www.astoriadowntown.com FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23 rd - WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2 ND Customers can park downtown longer than the posted time limit, except in metered spaces. Christmas Eve Service December 24 th • 7 pm Next to Camp Rilea PIONEER PRESBYTERIAN SINCE 1846 Solstice Sale 10 Gifts 20 Jewelry * 30 Purses & Bags 40 Holiday % off all % off all % (excludes firefly) off all % off all (cards, ornaments, & decor) 1133 Commercial Street Astoria 503.468.0308 Follow us on Facebook & rate our brews on the UNTAPPD app 716 Triangle Shopping Center Longview • 360.232.8283 www.antidotetaphouse.com Mon-Wed 12 pm to 9 pm Thur-Sat 12 pm to 11 pm Sun 12 pm to 8 pm
